The Streets
When You Wasn’t Famous
679
A ‘fame, it’s a funny old game’ single set to a cod-reggae musical backing- hell, it even features Calypso – with a rhythm track curiously reminiscent of the Pet Shop Boys‘ Se A Vide E? About as appealing as Sharon Osbourne‘s rumoured teatime talk show, isn’t it? But, luckily, Mike Skinner‘s (CDs) tongue is bursting out of his cheek on this one and making good progress along the Great Wall of China to boot. “How the hell am I supposed to be able to do a line in front of complete strangers,” he deadpans, “when I know they’ve all got cameras?” And then there’s the tantalising question of which pop girlie he’s lambasting. He even addresses her directly, and scathingly, with this immortal couplet: “Considering the amount of prang you’d done, you looked amazing on CD:UK.” But, as sardonic as When You Wasn’t Famous is, consider its ultimate irony: were the identity of the starlet with ‘children’s appeal’ actually revealed, in today’s Knock ‘Em Down, Make ‘Em Atone In Hello! celebrity culture, it might just make her career.
Of course, this isn’t the only single released today. Venture beyond the jump for more singles by Prince, Secret Machines, Morrissey, Editors, Big Strides and Depeche Mode…
Prince
Black Sweat
Universal
Prepare to be satiated, chart stats junkies: Prince (CDs) hasn’t – aside from
the predictable reissue of 1999 to coincide with the new millennium
celebrations – scored a top forty hit in nine years. Westlife have
enjoyed 13 number ones in that time, and Jordan‘s managed four
boob jobs. But the planets now seem aligned for a chart comeback from
the purple-fixated, suspiciously well-preserved pop dwarf. His 3121
album’s been greeted with a favourable – though not rabid – critical
reception; his storming performance at last month’s Brit Awards had
music fans (and KT Tunstall) in rapture; and, well, hasn’t Pharrell
Williams been nicking all his best moves for the last couple of years
anyway? Things look good for our hero, so long as Black Sweat can cut
the deliciously grainy,
‘Christ that’s hot it’s burning my bloody tongue off!’ mustard that we
call popular music. And it can! Prince pulls his old trick of removing
the bass line (à la When Doves Cry) to create a seductive slice of
minimalist funk. With a stuttering beat to show that he’s been
listening to the current crop of R&B stars (The Neptunes, Outkast,
Ying Yang Twins) who’ve been inspired by his back catalogue. Hell, even
his lascivious falsetto feels like an old friend we’ve unfairly
sidelined over the last few years. The ‘spray tips its Raspberry Beret
in respect.
THE ‘SPRAY INDIE BAND FACT FILE #3: SECRET MACHINES
Print off and keep each week. No need to visit Camden ever again!
Name: Secret Machines (CDs)
Domicile: Dallas, Texas.
Current level of popularity: The band scored one top 40 hit last year (as did Lisa Scott-Lee and Geri Halliwell).
Current state of play: Lightning Blue Eyes is the second single from Ten Silver Drops, the band’s upcoming sophomore album.
Critical acclaim: Secret Machines seem to be giving most music critics
a semi, if not the ‘waking up with sticky sheets’ feeling that the Arctic
Monkeys invariably effect.
Key Words: “neo-prog”, “atmospheric”, “epic soundscapes”, “space-rock”.
Suggested Conversation Piece: “David Bowie’s a big fan of Secret
Machines, you know!" You might* gain even more indie credibility by
referring to the Dame as “Dave” or even “Davie B” to imply that you
know him.
The ‘Spray’s final word: That ringing guitar solo’s very impressive, but where’s the chorus, lads?
*won’t, and will in fact look like a cock.
Morrissey
You Have Killed Me
Sanctuary
At a time when the music press is awash with rumours that Morrissey
(CDs) has – sharp intake of breath! – found happiness, it’s reassuring to know
that our hero’s still prone to being the sort of awkward customer who
cancels his appearance on Jonathan Ross at the eleventh hour. Some
things never change, eh? Mozza enjoyed a Streisand-esque comeback in
2004, releasing a well-received album, scoring four top ten singles and
nailing some revelatory live dates at Earls Court. He even found time
to reinvent Nancy Sinatra, for chrissake. But has this momentum carried
through to You Have Killed Me, the lead single from his upcoming
Ringleader Of The Tormentors album? Fortunately for sensitive,
self-effacing men of a certain age, it certainly has. The lyric is
intriguing, even suggesting that Mozza’s finally whipped his kecks off
and wiggled his purple love parsnip about a bit (“I entered nothing and
nothing entered me, ’til you came with the key”); and the pure pop
melody becomes more insistent with every spin. What’s more, the
production – courtesy of long-term Bowie collaborator Tony Visconti –
gives the single a classic, timeless sheen. Decent singles from
Morrissey and Prince in the same week? It’s like 1988 all over again.
Editors
All Sparks
Kitchenware
Here at hecklerspray there are lots of things that we like. We like a
nice bacon sarnie on a Sunday morning (grilled if we had too much to
eat last night, fried if we had too much to drink); we like the ongoing
cattiness between ITV and Lily O’Savage. We even like Cher‘s new face,
which should undoubtedly win some kind of prize for scientific
endeavour. But one thing we don’t like is a faceless indie band.
Especially not a faceless indie band whose lead singer recently enjoyed
a roll in the apple-yard with Edith Bowman. All Sparks is the fourth
song from Editors’ (CDs) The Back Room album to be released as single, and
it’s a perfectly competent sub-Joy Division indie pop song. The ringing
guitar riff, as well as being oh-so-Coldplay, is actually pretty
catchy. But, in a week where two musical legends are peddling
surprisingly storming new tunes, who actually cares?
Big Strides
Let’s Get Nice
Tall Order Records
Christ, what on earth is this? Maybe there’s something wrong with our CD player – Let’s Get Nice by Big Strides (CDs) sounds like seven or eight different songs drunkenly playing at once – the music from the Marmite advert, the theme-tune to Ren & Stimpy, a Japanese computer game for kids, all kinds of other stuff – with a mental tramp shouting about gardening and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire over the top of it. And, weirdly enough, it all works; though we suspect it we heard it on a loop we’d wig out and murder someone after less than an hour. Much better is b-side Sad Songs, which lopes along like Little Barrie or I Got Sweets by The Libertines. Wonderful.
Depeche Mode
Suffer Well
Mute
From Basildon to America’s most prestigious enormodromes, it’s been
quite a journey for Depeche Mode (CDs). And, almost 25 years after
their debut, last year’s Playing The Angel album was a triumphant
return to form from Essex’s leading synth-rockers. Suffer Well, its
third single, is pretty close to classic ‘Mode. Brutal guitars and
menacing synths interweave to create a musical backdrop that’s darker
than Stephen King‘s house during a power cut. And Dave Gahan’s
redemptive lyric, which chronicles his recovery from heroin addiction
(“An angel led me when I was blind; I said take me back, I’ve changed
my mind”), is complimented perfectly by some soulful backing vocals.
Who’d guess that they share their home town with Denise Van Outen?
[reviews by Nick Levine]